QEHP:.
`Architect.
Chief Engineer for Railways Office.
Builder.
Roddam, John & Walker, John.
Construction periods.
1878–1890, Maryborough Railway Station Complex and Air Raid Shelter (1878c - 1890s).
1878–1890, Former District Railway Superintendents Residence - Station master's residence (1878c - 1890s).
1878–1890, Former District Railway Superintendents Residence - Kitchen/Kitchen house (1878c - 1890s).
unknown, Former District Railway Superintendents Residence - Fence - perimeter.
unknown, Former District Railway Superintendents Residence - Trees/Plantings.
`The railway complex on Lennox Street in Maryborough consists of a number of timber buildings constructed between 1878 and the 1930s, as well as a brick and concrete platform and a concrete air raid shelter built in 1942. The Maryborough Railway Station was built as the terminus of a railway network that radiated from Maryborough, transporting timber, coal, sugar and other agricultural products to the wharves on the Mary River. Maryborough was also a busy rail terminal for passenger traffic. Although the Maryborough railway station is no longer used, the station buildings are a picturesque reminder of significant past economic activity and transport arrangements within the region..
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Settlement at Maryborough commenced in September 1847 when George Furber established a wool-store on the south bank of the Mary River at the head of navigation. He was followed in June 1848 by ET Aldridge, and Henry and RE Palmer, who established their own wharves on the opposite riverbank, at a location now known as the original Maryborough town site at Baddow [QHR 602393]. In 1850 a new town site was surveyed to the east, at a downstream position which provided better access for shipping. Maryborough was gazetted a Port of Entry in 1859 and was proclaimed a municipality in 1861. Items shipped from Maryborough included wool, tallow, and timber and these were later followed by coal and sugar..
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Maryborough grew quickly as the port for Gympie, where gold was discovered in October 1867, as it provided an alternative route - by ship to Maryborough, then overland south to Gympie - to the rough road running north from Brisbane. The long-term viability of the Gympie goldfield ensured the continued growth of Maryborough and the need for sawmills, foundries and construction firms. Coal mining on the Burrum River also needed Maryborough's construction industries and shipping. However, the Urangan Jetty in Hervey Bay, which opened in 1917, replaced Maryborough as the port for the coal mining and sugar industries. The closure of Walker's shipbuilding yards in 1974 spelled the end of Maryborough as a port..
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Maryborough's rise as a railway centre also resulted from the discovery of gold at Gympie. In August 1877 the Queensland government approved three railways to connect mining towns to their principal ports: Townsville to Charters Towers; Bundaberg to Mt Perry; and Maryborough to Gympie. The railway to Gympie opened in August 1881, and in 1883 a branch line north to the coalfields at Burrum was started at Croydon Junction (Baddow), several kilometres northwest of Maryborough. When the line was extended north to Bundaberg in 1888 it followed this branch line, which meant that the North Coast line later bypassed Maryborough Station and left it at the end of a dead-end spur..
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Maryborough station became the centre of a busy network of branch lines. A short branch line was built through the Botanic Gardens (QHR 600708) to the wharf area in 1880, and in 1883 this was extended eastwards alongside the river north of Kent Street to the Walkers Limited foundry and shipyards. It was later extended to the Maryborough Sugar Factory (established 1894). A branch line connecting to Maryborough was also opened from Theebine, south of Tiaro, to Kilkivan in 1886, and was later extended to Murgon, Proston, Windera, Kingaroy, Tarong and Nanango (the latter by 1911). A branch line from Mungar, south of Maryborough, to Broweena opened in 1889, and this line eventually extended to Gayndah, Mundubbera and Monto (1929). Coal from the Burrum fields eventually required better port facilities and a branch line was built to Pialba in 1896, from Colton, between Maryborough and Burrum. This branch was extended to Urangan in 1913....'.
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The next substantial addition to the church was in 1887 when a large free standing bell tower was erected near the church. The structure, with nine bells cast by Mears White Chapel Bell Founders of London, cost £3500 which was donated by ET Aldridge at whose suggestion the tower was constructed in memory of his wife, Maria. According to the National Trust of Queensland, the bell tower is believed to house the only full peal of bells in Queensland..
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Another large addition was made to the site in 1921 when a memorial Hall designed by local architect, POE Hawkes was constructed. The hall was dedicated to the "glory of God and the memory of those who fell in the Great War." The foundation stone was laid on 3 August 1920 to co-incide with a visit to Maryborough by the Prince of Wales. The building which was designed to harmonise with the church, housed a hall with a stage, two dressing rooms and two vestries along with two wide verandahs which would serve to provide supper rooms and open air classrooms. The hall was constructed by local contractor, WE Ferguson at a cost of £5980. POE Hawkes was an innovative local architect responsible for many fine inter-war building in Maryborough, including residences and commercial buildings..
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Within the church a Warrior's Chapel was dedicated on 3 July 1960 and Our Lady's Chapel was dedicated on 17 March 1963. Both the church and the hall remain substantially intact.'
